Love, against all odds
by toyaaah
Summary: Boybands had never really been Abby's thing. The lame dance routines, pushy paparazzi and crazy fans, it just wasn't for her. That all changed, however, when a heartbroken boyband member manages to fight his way into her life. Determined to get to know her he ignores her attempts to get him out of her life and grabs every opportunity to get her to open up about her past. (1D fanfic
1. Chapter 1

Capernoited

(Adj.) peevish; tipsy or slightly intoxicated

London 2014

The music was blasting through the huge speakers, the bass could be felt through the floors and the loud volume made every kind of communication nearly impossible. The teenagers didn't seem to mind though, they were dancing drunkenly, grinding, throwing their hands up in the air as if they didn't have a care in the world. Most of the people were so wasted they didn't even smell the unpleasant, but not unfamiliar, stench of alcohol, smoke and hot bodies that grossed out the few remaining sober ones.

Abigail, or Abby as she liked to be called, stood in the corner next to the bar and watched them, humour written all over her face. She enjoyed watching them making fools out of themselves, dancing with complete strangers, not caring about the consequences. She knew they were going to regret it the day after when day wake up in someone else's bed with a terrible headache, but they were having fun, which was nice to see.

Smiling the petite blonde brought her fruity drink to her lips and sipped it, making a face at the sour taste. It was alcohol free and she hadn't let it out of her sight in fear of getting spiked, there were some sketchy people in this club, but the drink wasn't any good. A mixture between lemon and all kinds of bittersweet sodas which gave it a nice colour, but did nothing to improve the taste. Shaking her head she abandoned the drink at the bar and made her way to the backdoor, greeting the club owner as she went.

She, as one of the only sober ones, had helped him out one day he had gotten a little too much to drink. As a thanks she was allowed into all the VIP spots and her drinks were free. She treated the bar like her second home and she and the owner, called Leroy, became friends.

She opened the door and closer her eyes as she took a deep breath of the cold, fresh air and let out a pleasured sigh. The back alley smelled like piss and alcohol, but it wasn't as bad as inside.

Abby plugged in her ear buds and walked towards the street, eager to get home as fast as possible. She had never been totally comfortable walking the streets on her own at night.

She was about to turn a corner when she heard raised voices from across the street. Several slashes went off, capturing her attention. Abby turned around to see what was happening.

A few people with huge cameras were taking pictures of a guy that was trying to make his way to his car. It was dark, so she couldn't see him clearly, but it was obvious that he was pretty wasted.

She felt bad for the poor boy, no one wanted to be taken pictures off whilst looking like that, so she walked over to him, ignoring the flashing cameras.

'Who are you?' He slurred as he stumbled closer to his car.

Abby looked closer and realized he was pretty handsome. He was tall with curly chestnut coloured hair that framed his face nicely, his eyes were slightly bloodshot, but still an intense colour green, the singlet he wore underneath his blazer showed off his abs and his lips were plump and pink.

'Harry Styles!' she cursed under her breath as she recognized him. 'Just my luck to meet a fucking popstar, a drunk one too!'

'I'm Harry Styles!' He cried out, his eyes getting slightly clearer, he studied Abby for a minute, but shook his head in disappointment. 'You're not me,' he stated, causing Abby to chuckle.

'No shit Sherlock. I'm Abigail.'

'I'm famous.' Harry told her pompously.

O god, Abby though to herself, not only a popstar, a snobby one too. But, snobby or not, she couldn't leave him here, drunk with paparazzi on his tail. Letting out a frustrated sigh she grabbed his arm and started talking.

'Yeah, I know buddy, you're famous and you're drunk. So unless you want your famous face all over the gossip magazines first thing tomorrow I suggest you come with me. Let's get you out of here.'

It took some time for Harry to catch the meaning of her words, but when he did he nodded lazily.

'Okay.' He muttered and grabbed Abigail's hand.

The pair started walking, or, Abby walked, Harry just stumbled behind.

Abby was a little stressed, trying to get home as fast as possible. The paparazzi didn't follow, but she was afraid they might pop up any minute.

It was a short walk from the club to her apartment, just about 2 minutes, but Harry struggled keeping his balance and slowed them down.

'Come on, Styles!' Abby said after he'd stumbled for the tenth time. 'Hurry up!'

'But I'm tired.' He moaned, grasping her hand tighter as he was about to fall again.

'We're almost there,' She said impatiently. 'Now hurry up!'

Abby wasn't a patient person, she never had been. If things were moving too slowly she would personally make sure they'd speed up. The funny thing was, they usually did. She might not look very intimidating, just 5 foot 5, blond hair and startling green eyes, but she was fierce and didn't back down. If she wanted something she tended to get it. Harry's slow pace annoyed her, so after letting out a few frustrated huffs she started speed walking, not letting go of his hand, forcing him to come along.

'Girly, slow down!' Harry whined, he had already forgotten her name.

Abby frowned at the terrible nickname, but instead of slowing down, she sped up.

Stupid popstar.

The two minute walk took 10 minutes and by the time they got inside Abigail was pretty pissed.

'You think I'm hot, don't you?' Harry slurred as he dropped down on the couch and took off all of his clothes, including his boxers.

'Irresistible.' Abby replied with a sarcastic smile and turned her head away quickly.

'I knew it.'

She rolled her eyes at him, but his vision was so blurry he couldn't see it. He let his head fall back and fell asleep almost immediately.

Shaking her head at her own stupidity for helping him out in the first place, she took out a few blankets and draped the carefully over the sleeping boy.

Well, she thought to herself, he probably won't remember much of it, I'll be rid of him by tomorrow.

You owe me bigtime, popstar.

Make sure you're out of my apartment by eleven.

Those were the words scribbled down on the bright yellow post-it that had been stuck to Harry's forehead.

Harry had woken up only minutes before and after struggling to sit up straight he had tried to look around, only to find his vision blocked by the small piece of paper. He read the small note several times, wondering what had happened the night before.

He looked around, he was in someone's living room. It was spacious and clean, large windows letting in much light and giving a great view of the street below, a huge TV taking up most of the wall that seemed to separate the kitchen from the livingroom where a beautiful old chandelier hang from the ceiling. The whole room radiating a sense of luxury and elegance.

The couch Harry had been sleeping on was a light beige colour and Harry found it pretty comfortable. There were some blankets on the floor next to the couch along with his clothes. He looked down at his body, not surprised at its nakedness, only wondering if he slept with someone the night before. Judging from the note, he probably did.

Shaking his head he tried to stand up, but only sat back down again with a groan. The shock of waking up in someone's apartment had caused him to forget about his hangover, but now that he thought of it he couldn't ignore it anymore, the throbbing pain in his head serving as a reminder of last night's events. Not that he remembered much of it.

He let his eyes sweep over the coffee table until he saw a glass of water with some painkillers. He picked it up and swallowed the small pill, smiling as he did so. He sure knew how to pick them, even when he was drunk. This girl seemed feisty with a sense of humour. He was a little annoyed at himself for not remembering her name, or at least her looks. He just assumed she was okay looking.

He smirked to himself and put on last night's clothes, it was only ten thirty, so he decided to treat himself to breakfast. It's not like she would care, he was Harry Styles after all.

Abigail had been walking the streets of London since eight o'clock. She liked to watch the city come to live. She liked to see the people that were rushing by, trying to get to work as soon as possible. It was fascinating, watching how they stressed to get to the underground, running as if their lives depended on it even though a train would leave every two minutes and they really had nothing to stress about. She shook her head in amusement and walked to the tiny cafe hidden in the shadow of a much larger Starbucks.

'Double expresso and a brownie, right?' Jayde, the girl behind the counter asked as soon as Abby opened the door. Ever since she found out that Jayde, a childhood friend of hers, worked here she had been coming here every day, ordering the same thing every time. The people that worked there all knew her, and made sure her coffee was ready a few minutes before she entered.

'Yes please, thank you Jay.' Abby answered, grinning at how predictable she was. She couldn't help herself, it was just so good.

She took her coffee and sat down in the chair by the window. The cafe was nearly empty, only an old couple were sitting in the corner in the back, so she knew Jayde would sit down with her in a few minutes, she had done that ever since the first day. And indeed, only a few minutes later the petite redhead appeared and sat down in the chair opposite to her.

'So,' she began. 'What is going on between you and a certain Harry Styles?'


	2. Chapter 2

Fanaa

(n.) destruction of the self; 'destroyed in love'

'_What's going on between you and a certain Harry Styles?'_

'Excuse me?' Abby managed to sputter out as she nearly choked on her drink.

'You heard me.' Jayde replied, smirking at the younger girls reaction.

'There is _nothing_ going on between the two of us!' Abby assured her after she managed to take a few deep breaths.

'These pictures beg to differ,' the redhead said, still smirking as she picked up a gossip magazine and read out loud. 'Harry Styles, the young heartthrob from the well known boyband One Direction, was spotted holding hands with a blond beauty last night. The couple were…' She didn't get the chance to read more than that as Abby snatched the magazine out of her grip and began to read it for herself.

'Un-fucking-believable!' she yelled as she put the magazine down. 'Why can't things just be normal for once. All I did was help him get away, the bastard was drunk, so I helped him. End of story. I didn't sleep with him, I'm not dating him and I really hope I never have to see his cocky face again!'

Maybe calling him a bastard was a little too strong, but this wasn't the kind of thing Abby wanted to start her day with, and it wasn't like Harry had made a very good first impression. Then again, no one ever really makes a great impression whilse being drunk.

'You of all people should know I'm not like that,' she said, her tone softer now, looking up at Jayde with sad, pleading eyes.

Jayde and Abby had known each other for a long time, they practically grew up together and even though they never had been really close, they considered each other friends. Which was enough for both girls.

'Okay, fine.' Jayde huffed. 'If you say nothing happened then I guess I'll have to believe you, but you can't deny that it would have been cool, Abby Styles has a nice ring to it.'

Abby rolled her eyes at her friend. 'You are _such_ a girl sometimes!'

'I _am_ a girl, thank you very much!'

'Whatever,' she laughed.

Jayde mimicked Abby's actions and rolled her eyes. 'Fine, but if you're not dating him, would you mind introducing him to me? I wouldn't mind some action with some famous popstar.'

'Didn't I just say I didn't want to see his face again?' Abby questioned, raising one eyebrow and focusing her attention back on the magazine in front of her, subtly hinting she wanted to stop talking about it.

'But Abby, he's Harry Styles!' Jayde whined, frustrated at how little Abby cared about these kind of things. 'He is hot, he's famous, he's rich..'

'He's arrogant, he's annoying..' Abby finished her sentence, causing Jayde to pout again. She didn't have the time to make a snarky reply as the door opened and Jayde had to go and help the costumers. She shot Abby an annoyed look as she got up with a huff. 'Why am I you friend again?' she muttered under her breath. Abby heard her none the less and stuck her tongue out at her.

'Shut up, you love me!'

Abby kept on reading, ignoring the looks Jayde was giving her. The magazine wasn't that bad, except for the article that mentioned her of course. She was glad they hadn't found out more about her (yet), but she knew how fast these kind of things go and didn't take anything for granted. The fans could be camping outside her apartment at the very moment for all she knew.

Shaking her head and putting the magazine down she got up from her comfortable seat. She should make sure Harry had left and her living room was still intact. She didn't usually let the drunkards she helped alone in her apartment, but considering how cocky that Styles boy had been while drunk, she didn't want to see him sober. Guys like him only brought trouble anyway.

Yes, she did speak from experience.

'Bye All,' she called as she left.

More guests had arrived and things were getting quite busy for her friend who only waved absentmindedly as she tried to hold three cups of coffee in one hand whilst accepting the money from the guy that paid for it. Needless to say she was failing. As she lifted her right hand to wave she looked up for a fraction of a second, which proved to be a stupid thing to do, the three cups came tumbling down, breaking as they came in contact with the hardwood floor and splashing the greasy hot liquid all over the floors.

'Fuck!'

'Klutz,' Abby giggled and walked out.

Meanwhile, Harry was sneaking into the recording studio, hoping his absence had gone unnoticed by the other boys.

No such luck.

'Harry Edward Styles, explain yourself!' Liam shouted as soon as Harry opened the door. Harry winched as the loud voice of his friend made his head hurt even more.

'Sorry,' he muttered tiredly and let himself fall down on the couch in between Louis and Zayn who were watching some brainless reality show on the TV.

'Don't think that counts as an explanation, mate.' Louis told him and patted him on the back. Liam seemed to agree with him and raised one eyebrow, waiting for a better answer.

'I got drunk.' Harry muttered, not looking at his friends. He knew they weren't going to like that answer either.

And they didn't, they didn't like it at all. Liam's face fell, Louis looked at his younger friend with sympathy, Niall only shook his head, disappointed at his actions.

'Harry, you really can't keep doing this,' Liam told him tiredly, they had discussed this quite often the last couple of weeks and he was sick of repeating the same conversation over and over again. They would all end the same way, Harry would get mad, tell them they didn't understand and walk away, only to repeat the entire thing the day after.

'Yeah, Hazz. You've got to get over her, she isn't coming back, you know,' Louis said, trying to catch Harry's gaze. 'Would you just talk to us?'

Harry shook his head at them and got up. He wasn't ready to talk about it yet, especially not with these boys, he knew how they were going to react. They would tell him he'd be okay, they'd say it was just a crush, he'd get over it. That just wasn't what he wanted to hear.

'I'll be fine, okay,' Harry told them grumpily. 'Don't worry about it.'

'Fine?' Niall choked out. 'Harry, you're not fine! You've been moping around ever since you and Diane broke up. You get drunk every fucking night, you don't turn up in time for our interviews, you sleep around, you're rude to the fans and you barely even _eat_!'

It was obvious that Niall considered the not eating part the worst, which was why he saved it to last. Niall was very fond of his food and known for his huge appetite, he considered not eating an insult of the most serious kind.

Harry rolled his eyes at him and got up from the couch, 'just forget about it.'

'But Hazz…'

'No, Lou. I don't want to talk about it. I am sick of this, all of this. Let me solve my own problems.'

Louis shook his head in defeat, Harry was his best friend in the band and it broke his heart to see him like this.

'Fine,' he sighed, offering Harry a small smile which he didn't return. 'We'll get out of your hair, but you'll have to promise you'll get your act together.'

Liam was about to interrupt, but Louis held up his hand and motioned for him to keep quiet.

'Talk to D-'

'Don't say her name!'

'-iane, get yourself a new girlfriend, do whatever it takes to get yourself back on track. I don't want to see you like this.'

Harry flinched as Louis said her name, Diane, his ex. She was a beautiful girl and Harry really liked her even though the other boys didn't. She had been his first serious relationship and his first real heartbreak. They broke up two weeks ago, Harry hadn't been the same since.

He liked to believe he was coping, that he was getting over her, but he knew it wasn't true. He had been trying, a little, but the others didn't seem to think getting drunk every other night was the best way to handle these kind of things.

'I'm sorry Boo,' Harry sighed as he got up and walked over to the door he just entered. 'I just don't know if I can do that.'

He shot his friends a sad look and walked out, closing the door behind him.

'Well,' Zayn said good naturedly as the four boys exchanged some dumbfounded looks. 'He didn't get angry this time, did he? He's getting better.'

Harry picked this exact moment to slam the front door shut and yell 'God damnit!' very audibly.

'He didn't get angry at us,' Niall corrected him. 'The door however..' he trailed off, not needing to finish that sentence.

The others shook their heads, a small smile appearing on their sad faces.

'He'll be alright, right?' Liam asked, his eyes fixed on Louis. Louis was the one closest to Harry, if he didn't know what was going on with him, no one did.

Louis only shrugged, he didn't know why Harry was acting like this, but it was clear to him that he was heartbroken. Louis had never really liked Diane, she was pretty arrogant and snobby, he didn't know Harry cared this much about her, the only thing they ever did was fight.

'I don't know, let's hope so.'

Liam and Zayn looked at each other, both of them thinking the same thing.

'Would you want them to get back together again?' Zayn asked, letting Niall and Louis in on their thoughts.

'Yes,' the Irishman said immediately. 'I'd rather see her annoying face every day than see Harry this down.'

'No,' Louis said almost at the exact same time. 'She was making him miserable, wearing him out. They would have broken up sooner or later, I'm glad they're done, give Harry some time, he'll get over her in the end.'

Liam and Zayn exchanged some glances and shrugged. It wasn't up to them anyways. The only thing they could do was make excuses for Harry's behavior and pray for him to keep a low profile. His break up was already all over the media, they didn't want it to attract even more attention.

'Have you seen the article on him and that girl, Li?' Zayn asked as he took a cut out from some gossip magazine out of his back pocket. He unfolded it and read out loud. 'Harry Styles, the young heartthrob from the well known boyband One Direction, was spotted holding hands with a blond beauty last night.'

'Blond beauty?' Niall questioned, suddenly paying attention. 'Let's see.' He didn't wait for an answer, he jumped up from his seat at the table and ran over to Zayn, snatching the bit of paper out of his grasp.

'Bloody hell!' he uttered after staring at the photograph for a few seconds. 'She's a stunner!'

The boys knew Niall had pretty low standards, he thought almost every girl pretty. A small smile on her side could convince him she was the most beautiful creature on the entire planet, until some other girl smiled at him and he'd think the same thing about her. They didn't really expect much of the girl as they too moved over to take a look.

'She's something, isn't she?' Zayn breathed staring at the photo. The girl really was stunning, she had long blond and wavy hair. She was skinny, or petite as some would say, her cut off shorts showing off her long legs, her black band shirt and worn off converse giving her the image off a bit of a trouble maker. Louis let out a small laugh, trust Harry to hook up with the prettiest girl in all of London, he knew how to pick them, even when he was drunk.

Liam didn't say anything, he only looked at the girl with a scowl on his face. She was pretty, he couldn't deny that, but even from the picture he could tell there was something odd about her. Something tingled in the pit of his stomach. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.


	3. Chapter 3

Oculoplania

(n.) letting your eyes wander in order to asses someone's 'charms'

Abby was pleased to discover her apartment empty and with no fans outside.

She let out a sigh and sat down in the couch, pleased to have her place to herself again. She decided to have a lazy day, last night had gotten a little more eventsome than she originally planned and she had gotten up early that morning.

'Movie marathon it is,' she mumbled to herself as she got up to get some ice cream.

Harry walked through the streets of London for some time, not knowing where he was or where he was going. It didn't really bother him.

'She isn't coming back', 'Get your act together', 'I don't want to see you like this', Louis' words echoed through his mind, making it hard to focus on anything but his own frustrated and confusing thoughts.

Harry sighed and shook his head, Lou was right, he had to change something, but he didn't know how. Moving on would be too painful, it would mean letting go of his and Diane's relationship.

It hadn't been a perfect relationship, hell, it hadn't even been good, but he really did miss it. Harry came to realize that he might have been in love with Diane, if just a little.

After walking for about half an hour Harry began to recognize his surroundings, he was close to the apartment of the girl he had stayed with that night.

He hadn't thanked her for helping him out and for not going to the press. Most girls would have done that straight away, they would've told the whole world how they had managed to hook Harry Styles. It had happened before, several times in fact.

Not knowing where else to go and curious about the girl, he started making his way over there, she probably wouldn't mind If he crashed there again.

Now that he was neither drunk, hangover nor half asleep, he could finally take his time to admire the building. It was huge, old fashioned, about five stories tall and made out of heavy, brown bricks with an enormous front door and big modern windows. Every apartment had a large balcony except for the top floor, they seemed to share the roof.

He didn't know what story she was in, but it must have been in the fifth floor or something, he remembered the view.

After taking another good look he walked inside.

'Fifth floor,' he mumbled to no one in particular as he made his way to the elevator, ignoring the grandness of the reception hall.

Harry didn't really remember which apartment was hers, so he just wandered around the hallway on the fifth floor for several minutes, hoping he'd recognize something.

After about seven minutes an old lady in expensive designer clothes came out. Her hair was short and curly, all her clothing garments an awful shade of peachy orange and her eyes large, blue and glazy. She must have been about seventy years old.

'Can I help you?' she asked him, looking up at him through her eyelashes, leaning slightly towards him in something she probably thought was a flirty manner.

Harry took a quick step back and nodded. 'Yes, is there a young girl living on this floor? About my age.'

The lady didn't seem to like the question as she wrinkled her already wrinkled nose in disgust.

'Not young enough for you, ey?' She shook her head and lifted her right arm to point at the second door on her left.

'Abigail Johnson,' she muttered as she turned around and closed her door behind her, mumbling something about today's youth.

A little confused at the old lady's strange manners Harry walked over to the door she pointed at and knocked.

'You're not welcome!' a girl's voice on the other side shouted.

Is everyone in this building this strange? Harry wondered as he chose to ignore the girls words and opened the door. He took a few steps into the room and turned the corner to the living room. The large windows let in a lot of light, all the walls were white and the room itself was so clean, it reminded him of a hotel room. The only thing that seemed personal was a small picture on a dresser by the door to what Harry assumed was the bedroom.

'Are you deaf? Get out!' the girl shouted, walking up to him with a very annoyed expression. Harry let his eyes explore her body and liked what he saw, she really was pretty.

'My eyes are up here, bud,' Abby told him and rolled hers.

Blushing slightly, but with a smirk on his face, Harry looked up and met her eyes. This wasn't how he imagined the girl to be, she wasn't screaming, squealing or even smiling for that matter. She looked like she wanted him out, which was refreshing.

'You're Abigail Johnson,' Harry said.

'I know,' Abby replied. 'And you..' she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Harry finished it for her.

'Harry Styles, one fifth of One Direction, I know.'

'I was going with trespassing or intruding, but that works too,' she told him and turned around to walk back to her living room and the movie that was playing there. 'You can leave the way you came.'

Harry scrounged up his face, those words sounded a little perverse, coming from the mouth of a girl. He couldn't help himself.

'I didn't cum yet, but I bet you can help me with that,' he replied, smirking even more.

Abby shot him a sarcastic smile. 'I'll pass.'

She sat down, not paying any more attention to Harry who was now leaning against the kitchen counter, not making any signs of wanting to leave.

'I never understood this movie,' he said after a brief silence, pointing towards the flat screen where Mandy Moore took up the whole screen with 'A Walk To Remember'.

'It's a lovestory,' Abby answered, her eyes never leaving the screen. 'Of course you don't understand.'

Harry didn't reply, he stared at his feet with a sad look on his face. This girl had known him for about five minutes and already knew how much of a failure he was when it came to love. Maybe it was some kind of vibe, a signal every girl knew, which told them how much or little experience someone had and how easily they would be used or broken. Or maybe it was just something everyone knew, Harry Styles was a failure when it came to love.

'You're supposed to give me some snarky reply,' Abby said, turning away from the TV to look at him. 'I might even feel bad if you don't.'

She studied the boy a little closer before moving a little to the right and patting the seat next to her. 'Here,' she said, offering him her spoon and the ice cream. 'Tell me about her.'

'About who?'

Abby sent him a rare little smile, she looked even prettier when she smiled, he noticed. 'The girl who broke your heart.'

'I don't want to talk about her,' Harry said, accepting the spoon and taking a bite.

'Then why are you here?'

He shrugged, and shoved another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. 'I don't know.'

'Okay, let's reformulate the question, why don't you leave?'

She didn't say it in a mean, or even an annoyed way, it was just a question, Harry couldn't be bothered to feel offended. He shrugged as he thought about it. 'You've got good ice cream.'

'True,' Abby simply said. If he didn't want to talk then she wouldn't ask, she focused her attention back on the movie, grabbing his spoon every once in a while to eat some ice cream.

Harry looked at her, surprised that she was willing to drop it just like that. The last couple of days the boys had been questioning him nonstop, not taking no for an answer and unwilling to accept how he didn't want to talk about it. Abigail didn't press for an answer, which meant she knew how annoying it was to have people asking all the time. She had been through the same thing and knew how to handle it. Harry found himself staring at the pretty blond girl, wondering how she had gotten hurt.

'It's not polite to stare,' Abby scolded him after a few minutes. Harry only smiled, a genuine smile this time, the first one in weeks.

'I know,' he said, still not looking away.

She shook her head at him. Boys.

They sat like that for a while, Abby watched the movie whilst Harry was lost in thought. The day passed quickly as they put on two more movies and ordered takeout food.

'Do you mind if I stay the night?' Harry asked when it was getting dark and Abby was getting ready for bed.

'I'd rather you didn't, but it's a free country,' she said and walked over to the bathroom to brush her teeth. 'Just stay out of my way and avoid pissing me off.'

A few minutes later her voice called from the bathroom. 'You might want to call those friends of yours and tell them where you are as well, don't want to be sued for kidnapping.'

Harry mentally face palmed himself for not thinking of it before and sent Liam a quick text.

From: Harry To: Liam

Sleeping over at a friend's, be back B 4 the next interview. Don't worry about me.

He knew how they would take this, they would think he was getting better, think he was at some girls place, getting laid, getting over Diane.

He was at a girls', not at a friend's, but anyways. Getting laid? No, probably not. He seriously doubted he had slept with her the night before. She had probably picked him up and dumped him on the couch, as for his nakedness, well, he did tend to get naked quite a lot.

'Night, Styles,' Abby said as she made her way to the bedroom. 'Don't get too comfortable. If you're still here by eleven tomorrow I'll reveal your location on tumblr, twitter and what not.'

She suppressed a yawn and closed the door behind her. She crawled under the soft sheets and turned off the lights, her thoughts wondering, not to the popstar in her livingroom, but home.

Harry smiled as he heard the girl shuffle into bed, sighing contently. She was crabby, annoying and had a bad temper, but he was determined to get to know her.

He laid down on the couch and took the blankets Abby had gotten him. He looked around the room once more, now that it was dark it seemed so sad and empty. He let his eyes fall upon the picture close to the door. He could barely make out three vague shapes. Her family, I'll ask her about them tomorrow, he told himself as his eyes closed and he dozed off.


	4. Chapter 4

Carriwitchet

(n.) a pun or a paradox; a riddling question

'Styles!' Abby yelled as she walked into her apartment at eleven thirty in the morning. 'You'd better be out of here!'

No one answered which was good enough for her, she dropped the bags full of groceries on the kitchen counter and walked through her bedroom and into the even bigger room that had been turned in to a music studio. You could only get into the room via her bedroom which was off limits, meaning no one even knew about this room, hidden away and seemingly nothing but a walk in closet.

Smiling at the sight of her beautiful piano forte she sat down and let her fingers find their way to the keys. She closed her eyes as she played the melody she had played over a hundred times. She knew it by heart and hearing it played was like listening to an old friend.

The soft tune brought back memories, good memories, and before she could stop herself, a small tear rolled down her cheek.

Her expression hardened, however, when she heard her front door open.

'Abbs!' an awfully familiar voice called, making her lip twitch in annoyance. _Abbs_, seriously?

'I told you to be out by eleven, Styles!' she told him, closing the door of her studio behind her, walking through her bedroom and into the livingroom where possibly the very last person she wished to see stood.

Harry Styles, again.

'You did indeed,' Harry replied, the corners of his lip turning up in a sly smile at the less than warm welcome he received. 'But you didn't tell me I couldn't come back.'

'Wanker,' Abby muttered under her breath and walked over to the kitchen to put away the groceries.

'That's it?' Harry asked dumbfounded. 'You're not going to fight me? Kick me out? Torture me?'

'That wouldn't stop you from coming back now, would it?' she said, as she took out a bag of potato chips and tossed it at him. 'Just stay out of my way and don't ask questions.' With that she walked out of the apartment, through the hallway and up the stairs to the part of the roof that was hers.

Harry stood in her livingroom, a bag of chips in his hands, staring at the place where she left. She kept surprising him.

Because he was a boy and because he had nothing better to do he walked to her bedroom, determined to find the drawer where she kept her underwear.

The bedroom was huge and it too reminded him of a hotelroom. There was just nothing personal about it. The walls were white, the bed was large and the sheets folded neatly, there were no clothes on the floor, nothing. This lack of information only got him curious. She couldn't have lived here for a long time if everything still looked like this. Maybe she had a job that required her to move a lot, but she had been at home all day, not doing anything. Maybe she had rich parents?

The mystery of the girl's past made Harry forget about her undergarments, which, in Harry's case, is quite an achievement.

'What happened to you?' he muttered. It was clear to him that she had been hurt, he had never met a girl that guarded. She hadn't tried to get to know him and as far as he knew she hadn't talked to anyone but him, no phone calls, no texts, not leaving the house, no contact with the outside world whatsoever.

'Don't ask questions,' that's what she had told him and he knew he owed her not to. Not only had she helped him when he was drunk, she had let him stay here, not demanding an answer as to why. He shouldn't ask her, he shouldn't even be curious, but he was and he would.

Harry made up his mind and walked out to the stairs. He walked fast, hoping to avoid a second meeting with yesterday's strange lady.

When he made it out in the open he let out a shallow breath, not a sign of the lady, mission accomplished.

He looked around and spotted Abby on the part of the roof that must have been hers. She was sitting on an old porch swing, her legs pulled up to her chest, humming softly to herself.

He walked up to her, trying not to disturb her. She must have heard him coming because she stopped humming, but did nothing to acknowledge his presence.

'Hey,' Harry said as he sat down next to her and pulled up his legs, the swing moving just a little. He looked at the girl, wondering what question to ask first. He wanted to know more about her, but didn't want her to get mad or send him away. He quite enjoyed her company. After a few minutes spent in silence he spoke up. 'Can I ask you a question?'

Abby looked at him with half a smile. 'I told you not to, but you didn't listen to the other things I told you, so I guess it's no surprise you didn't listen this time either.'

'I know, and I'm not doing this just to annoy you, I'm just curious.'

She nodded and looked at him. 'I promise to answer your question, but I can't promise you I'll be honest.'

The answer confused Harry, 'why not?'

'Because some things are just none of your business.'

She said this like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and after Harry gave it some thought, he had to agree that it was.

'Fair enough,' he said and studied her face. She didn't seem nervous or annoyed, she looked mostly tired.

'Who are you?' he asked, the words leaving his mouth without his consent.

The question seemed to amuse Abby. 'I'm Abigail Johnson.'

Harry rolled his eyes. 'Well, yeah, I know that. But where are you from? How old are you? What do you do for living? What's your family like?'

Abby thought things over before answering, not really sure about how much she could tell him. After a brief silence she only said. 'I'm from Liverpool, I'm eighteen, the rest is none of your business.'

'Liverpool? you don't have an accent, you sound almost London-ish to me.'

'London-ish? What is London-ish?' she asked and Harry understood she was trying to change the subject. He had asked his questions, and even though she hadn't answered all of them, he understood he shouldn't push it. It was none of his business after all.

'London-ish, you just sound like you're from London.'

'Well, yeah, I've lived here quite often,' she said, regretting it immediately. It was one of the subjects she usually wished to avoid.

'Often?' Harry asked, not understanding her strange use of that word. 'Don't you mean long?' It took him some time, but then he understood. 'You've moved a lot.'

It wasn't a question, so Abigail didn't answer. Yes, she did move a lot, but he knew more than she wanted him to, she promised herself to be more careful from now on.

Harry looked at her, he understood she didn't want him to know it, so he didn't ask. He didn't forget it though, he was going to find out.

'Don't your friends mind, you spending this much time with me instead of them?' Abby asked, trying to change the subject again.

Harry smiled to himself. 'No, they don't mind. Believe it or not, you actually managed to make me smile, which is something they've failed to do these last couple of days.'

Abby smiled as well, a shy smile. 'You're strange,' she told him, getting up from the swing. 'I'm bored, do you want to go somewhere?'

Harry nodded and got up as well, he knew she was, once again, avoiding a subject. Simply changing the subject hadn't worked, so now she had to change her tactics.

They made their way down the stairs, Harry walking as fast as possible, still trying to hide from the neighbor. Abby noticed this and smiled, sure, he was weird, overly confident and really annoying, but she found herself actually enjoying his company.

'Are you okay?' Harry asked her as he sensed the change in her mood. Abby nodded, a smile spreading over her face. Harry smiled as well, wrapping his left arm around her small shoulders.

'Get off me Styles,' she told him, her smile slowly fading. Harry, of course, did the exact opposite of what she wanted and wrapped his other arm around her legs, plucking her up and carrying her bridal style.

'Harry Styles, put me down!' she yelled as he carried her through the reception hall, causing them to receive a lot of odd looks of the people surrounding them.

Harry only grinned and shook his head. He liked holding her in his arms like this, a warm feeling spreading through his stomach as he looked down at the younger girl.

'Stop smiling like that, you tard!' Abby said, rolling her eyes.

Harry shook his head again and opened the door with his elbow, eager to get out of the building. Not looking at anything but Abby, he stumbled and sent the two of them tumbling down the three steps in front of the entrance.

'Harry, you absolute idiot!' Abby laughed, smacking his shoulder as they both came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. Harry had landed on top of her, he was a lot taller and loads heavier, so to say that it was uncomfortable would be an understatement.

'I think you like it,' Harry smirked, getting up on his hands and knees to get his weight of off her.

'Dream on,' she told him, pushing him down to get up and steady herself.

'I will,' he replied with an even bigger smirk.

'Shut up.'

Abby offered him her hand and pulled him up. 'Come on, popstar, let's go.'

'Where do you want to go?'

Abby shrugged and looked around. 'The park? I'll race you there.'

And, without waiting for his answer, she started running. Harry stared after her in awe for a few seconds before getting himself together and following after her, all thoughts of Diane leaving his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 ****– Legerity**

(n.) a surprising quickness of mind or body

'God, you're fast!' Harry panted as he came to a stop next to Abby. He had always considered himself to be in fairly good shape, but Abby outran him without any effort.

'Well, thank you!' Abby smirked, shaking her head slightly at Harry who seemed absolutely exhausted.

'You're welcome,' Harry replied, rolling his eyes. 'It would've helped if you actually told me where we were going.'

'I told you we were going to the park!'

'_The Park_? A, we passed more than 3 different parks running here!' Harry complained, raising his hands in frustration.

Abby took this sudden burst of energy as a sign that he wasn't that tired anymore and started walking.

'You know, you could have told me how far it was,' Harry continued, trailing behind. 'We could have taken a tube, a train, my car?'

'I wouldn't have gotten into your car,' Abby told him dismissively, walking over to one of the park's swings in the middle of an abandoned playground.

'Why the hell not?'

'I don't know you,' she stated, turning to look at him, raising one eyebrow, subtly indicating she wasn't too impressed with his intelligence so far.

'Excuse me? Of course you know me!'

'No, I don't,' Abby reasoned calmly. 'I've known you for less than 24 hours, you're still a stranger, a distant acquaintance at best.' She sat down on one of the two swings and motioned for Harry to do the same.

'I am not just some _stranger_!' he opposed, struggling to keep his temper under control. 'I'm Harry Styles!'

'I know _of_ you. I don't know you,' Abby grumbled, thinking back on the very short time the two of them had known each other. She looked him straight in the eye, daring him to contradict her.

Harry registered the challenge and was not slow to defy her, knowing fully well he wouldn't be able to outface the pretty blonde. 'What's the difference?'

Abby huffed and turned away from him, her eyes resting on the old wooden slide in front of them as she explained it to him. 'The difference is I know of Harry Styles, the boyband member that sleeps with everything that's wearing a skirt. I know of the spoiled celebrity that sells out concerts and goes on tour, the guy who's got dolls wearing his signature look in every store and billboards with his face on it spread all over town. I know Harry Styles, one fifth of One Direction, a successful product of the fake and manufactured music industry. Successful and rich, but fake none the less. I know him. I hear and read about him ever freaking day, but I don't know Harry. And I would not have accepted a ride from you just in case you'd turn out to be _that_ guy.' She took a deep breath, shook her head and smiled at him, but he seemed too offended to notice. 'The fact that I'm even talking to you only shows how much I hope for you to be different from who the medias would have me believe you to be,' she added gently.

Harry looked absolutely fuming, which didn't scare Abby, but didn't surprise her either. She hadn't really sugarcoated her opinions and he was bound to feel offended. 

'And what if I am that person?' he asked her, gritting his teeth.

'Then that's too bad.'

That was obviously not what he wanted to hear.

'This is complete bullshit. You know I'm in One Direction, you know I'm a _nice person_!' Harry argued, but Abby shook her head, still smiling slightly.

'You're still a stranger, regardless how famous you think you are.'

'How famous I _think_ I am? I am one of the most famous guys in the world!'

'And apparently one of the most arrogant ones as well. For god's sake, Styles. Just because I'm famous doesn't mean you know all about me, now does it?'

'Wait, you're famous?' Harry asked, all the malice and frustration disappearing from his voice as he marveled over this surprising new possibility.

'Hypothetically speaking.'

Harry narrowed his eyes at her, his temper playing up again as he saw her rolling her eyes at him. 'Fine,' Harry sneered, dropping his previous arguments. 'What do you want to know about me? Ask me anything.'

'I don't want to ask anything you don't want to tell me,' Abby told him stubbornly, making Harry groan in frustration. Why was she being so difficult? And, even more important, why was he putting up with it? I mean, sure she was pretty and he did owe her for helping him when he was drunk, but why force his company on her when she had made it pretty obvious she didn't care for it? Surely he could've found a girl a lot more willing to deal with his company?

'Okay, fine, if you don't want to ask then I'm just going to tell you. My name is Harry Edward Styles, I am 19 years old and my birthday is on February 1st. I grew up in Holmes Chapel, I love sweetcorn, T.G.I. Fridays, _Love Actually_ and Frankie Sandfort. My favourite colour is blue, I don't like white cars, I love mexican food and listen to The Beatles and Queen,' he finished his rant and took a deep breath, trying to calm down a little. 'Anything else?'

Abby stared at him in surprise for a few seconds before letting out a gentle laugh and shaking her head, ending their argument as quickly as it had begun. 'Yup, that's it. You have officially participated in too many interviews.'

Harry opened and quickly shut his mouth as he looked at her and blinked in confusion at her unexpected, but not unwelcome, change of subject.

Abby had a hard time suppressing a grin at how fatuous he looked in that moment, but checked herself. She had offended him enough for one day and didn't want to cut their building friendship short by insulting him any more than she already had.

Harry replayed their conversation in his head, trying to figure out what led to this when he realized something.

'You don't think I'm that guy,' he told her, watching her closely to gauge her reaction.

'I, what?' she asked him, her face betraying nothing but confusion.

'You said the fact we were still talking only proved you still believe me to be different from the guy the medias warned you about, right?'

'Pretty much, yes,' she answered, still not completely sure where he was going with this.

'Does that mean I have given you a reason to do so?'

Abby, now understanding what had been leading up to, smiled and shook her head slightly. 'Maybe. I did tell you to leave, didn't I?'

'You did, but you didn't oppose to me coming back.'

'Well then, there's the answer to your question,' she told him smiling even wider. It took Harry a few more seconds to decipher her vague answer, but when he did he smiled back at her.

'Thank you, I think,' he told her.

'Don't thank me yet. You still have to live up to it.'

'I don't doubt it,' Harry simply answered, pushing his feet back and making the swing move.

Abby smiled at the confidence he seemed to radiate around her, astonished at how much he seemed to have changed since he barged into her apartment the previous morning. She had thought him arrogant and annoying, but now that he was sitting next to her, arguing and –kibbelen—she had to admit that he handled her criticism well. She was impressed but had –for lengst- learned how to mask her emotions and kept it from showing. She did smile when she noticed the hint of a smile that seemed to be creeping up his face as the swing went a little higher, revealing the dimples digging in his cheek that she hadn't noticed before. He seemed happier and more energetic, and what with the long brown curls and cute smile he was like a –spessielt—shaggy puppy.

'Could I just ask you one more question?,' she said, scrounging up her face a little as if she wasn't entirely sure whether she really wanted to risk asking it or not. She really didn't want to argue or to risk another random outburst on his side and tried to ask the question in a way that would make him answer it honestly. Harry nodded, the smile still on his face. 'Why were you drinking?'

Harry looked at her in surprise, that wasn't the question he had expected. 'Well, ehm,' he said, as his smile faded. He started moving his feet nervously and swinging awkwardly from the left to the right on the old swing. 'Me and Diane, my girlfriend, broke up not so long ago. And, well, I wasn't too happy about it. Pretty miserable actually, to say the least..'

'You tried to drink yourself into oblivion,' Abby finished, nodding her head as she understood it. She too had been in that position once.

'Pretty much, yeah.' Harry blushed a little and looked down. Now that he thought about Diane again it was all he could do to stop the tears from appearing in his eyes. He hated how broken he felt without her, though spending time with Abby made him realize he could do so much better. He missed Diane and hated her for doing this to him, but he knew their relationship had been pretty dysfunctional. Even though he still wished things could have turned out differently, he was done feeling sorry for himself and ready to move on. He just had to figure out how and he knew he couldn't do it on his own.

'That's understandable,' Abby said so gently Harry looked up in surprise. She hadn't really shown her gentle side before, preferring to be quite harsh and hostile. He knew she had a softer side, but was surprised she was willing to show it this fast. He figured she had started to trust him, if only a little.

'What happened between the two of you? If you don't mind me asking.'

Harry sighed and sat up. 'She found someone else,' he mumbled just loud enough for Abby to hear.

'Her loss,' Abby assured him and reached over to pat his knee reassuringly.

'I guess.'

'No, I know so,' Abby said, a little firmer now. 'You were right, you are a nice person. You're a good guy, Harry, and if she was unable to see and to appreciate that then you're better off without her.' She turned so that she was facing him, studying his face. 'You'll be okay Hazz.'

'Hazz?,' Harry repeated, a soft smile spreading over his face. 'A nickname, I like it, Abbs.'

'Don't call me Abbs.' Abby muttered under her breath, but didn't say more about it. She pushed the swing a little backwards and let go, enjoying the feeling of the cold wind through her hair and the slight tingling that build up in her stomach as she gained speed. Harry watched her in amusement before joining in. The swingset screeched in protest, but the two of them continued until Harry let go of the ropes at top speed and flew through the air, only to land graciously on his feet. Abby rolled her eyes at him and skidded to a stop before getting off too.

They sat down on the grass, both of them a little more motion sick than they were willing to admit.

'What now?' Harry asked her, leaning back on his elbows.

Abby leant back as well, closing her eyes, enjoying the few rays of sunlight that were able to reach her through the fluffy white clouds. 'Now we lay back, relax and forget about everything,' she said.

Harry looked at the young blond girl and frowned. 'Why?'

Abby only shrugged. 'Why not?'

'We could do something else, something more interesting,'

'Such as?'

'We could go to my place, you could meet the other boys. I'm sure they're dying to meet you,' Harry nearly begged with his cutest puppy eyes. Abby, however, was smart enough to keep her eyes shut and only shook her head.

'Okay then, so you want us to lay down in the grass, doing nothing, because?'

Abby sighed and opened her eyes, this was why she preferred her own company, people could be so annoying. 'Because,' she said impatiently. 'It's a beautiful day and I feel like it. Now please, either shut up or leave.'

Harry let out a sigh of his own and obeyed, laying down, closing his eyes and shutting up whilst he wondered what to do next. He could go home, spend some time with the boys, work on their new album or something. But going back meant he was going to have to answer their questions about his behavior these last couple of days. They were going to ask about Abby as well, Harry didn't know what he should tell them. _'Well, she's just a girl who took care of me while I was drunk, she told me to get out the day after, but I came back and we watched chick flicks, ate ice cream and hung out.'_ It didn't sound right. Harry also knew that Abby wouldn't wait for him if he left. She would get on with whatever she was doing before they met and probably forget all about him. He didn't want that either. He wanted to get to know her, but he already knew she wouldn't allow him to do so. She would probably distance herself when things were getting too personal. He would have to be prepared when that happened.

Harry had never been very patient, his celebrity status had done nothing to improve that, so lying in the grass with no disguise and nothing to do but listen to his own thoughts made him nervous.

'Abbs?' Harry said when he couldn't bare the silence anymore.

'It's Abby,' Abby interrupted him. 'Not A, not Abbs, _Abby._'

'Same thing. But I was wondering, how do you usually spend your days? I mean, when there are no popstars to save or anything.' Abby didn't answer so Harry continued. 'Do you have a job, hobbies, friends you hang out with or something?'

'Harry,' Abby began in a tone of voice Harry had come to recognize as a form of rejection. The tone of voice that meant she wasn't going to answer his question.

'No, please,' he interrupted. 'I answered your question about me getting drunk. Please answer this one.'

Abby glared at him, but knew he had a point. Reluctantly she said. 'I have a few friends here in London, one of them, called Allison, works at a little café not too far from here. I have a job, though what that is is none of your business. I usually spend a lot of a time on my job, again, none of your business, but I'm on a break right now so I just do whatever I want to.'

Harry observed Abby in silence for a few minutes, making her blush. 'Thank you,' he then said.

'For what?'

'For answering my question.'

Abby looked at him, wondering if he was being serious. 'You're welcome, I guess.'

Harry smiled and closed his eyes. 'You're going to make me do this for a long time, aren't you?'

'I am indeed.' Abby grinned, ignoring the half-hearted sigh this received.

She too closed her eyes, smiling contently as she enjoyed the feeling of sunshine on her face and grass tickling her back.

She snuck a glance at Harry, smiling even wider as he finally seemed to relax.

She had meant the things she told him, he really did seem like a good guy, the kind of guy she could imagine herself becoming friends with. She had seen enough of his character to know he was a loyal and caring guy, despite the player façade. The only thing still bothering her was how she already cared too much. She hadn't liked seeing him upset, not because it made her uncomfortable (which it did), but because she genuinely cared about him. Which, in her case, wasn't a good thing.


End file.
